Gated
by fojg24-aka 24
Summary: The Centre is gone. What happens when the Centre refugees are together?
1. Gated

Disclaimer: "The Pretender" and its characters don't belong to me they belong to TNT and NBC and are being used without permission. Please don't sue because I have no money.

Gated

Part 1

Jarod walked to the porch looking around him. On the right side of him was his parents house it was a two-story house with white and green trim. Jeremy, who was Jarod's clone, was living with them and once in a while he would spend the night at his house. They would rent movies and eat junk food, or just talk and eat junk food. Emily was living on the other side of him in a one-story house that was white with brown trim. On the other side of the road was Miss Parker's house. It was also a one-story house, but it was white with red trim. It was sometimes hard living with his parents and with Miss Parker, Sydney, Broots and his family. There were times when his parents would get into an argument with Miss Parker, Sydney and sometimes with Broots. In time they were getting used to that Broots was a victim and so was his daughter. In time he hoped that they would realize that Sydney and Miss Parker were victims too Besides Miss Parker was were Sydney and Michelle lived. Angelo was living with them. It was white with yellow trim. In the other house besides Sydney and Michelle was Nicolas. He was in a one-story house that was white with gray trim. It sometimes still pained him when he saw Nicolas and Sydney together as father and son even is his own parents were there with him. On the other side of Nicolas's house was a one-story house with magenta trim and that's where Broots and Debbie lived. There were four other houses ready to be lived in. A little further was an entertainment and pool area. They had all been there for four months so far as the Centre was torn down. Since some of the people that were in charge of the Centre were not killed Jarod had found part of his family and invited Miss Parker and the rest to come with him to this gated community. He had gathered some of the people who he had helped in his pretends and asked them to help him in keeping the area secure.

Going back into the house with his cup of coffee that he had finished. He went into the kitchen and washed his cup and looked out the window. He sighed as he watched a bird hopping around pecking at the green grassy ground. He wished that his parents would stop talking about Sydney and Miss Parker like he wasn't there when he was around. It pained him that he finally found his family and they were at each other's throats with the only family that he'd ever known and with the woman that he loved. Didn't they see that it pained him? Didn't they care that they were tearing him in pieces? Maybe they did and they didn't even care.

He wished that someday soon they would see the error of their ways and they would see that they were all victims of the Centre just like he was, like Jeremy was, like Ethan was and just like they were. Why couldn't they see it? Did they even want to see it?

He went into the living room and turned on the T.V. trying to find something to occupy his mind. He turned it off and went outside and made his way to Miss Parkers house.


	2. Jeremy and Debbie

Disclaimer: "The Pretender" and its characters don't belong to me they belong to TNT and NBC and are being used without permission. Please don't sue because I have no money.

Gated

Part 2

Jeremy and Debbie watched from the park as Jarod and Miss Parker were talking on her porch. She was waving her arms around and talking to Jarod in a raised voice. They could see Jarod sigh and try to defuse the situation.

"Why don't those two just kiss? Why does it have to be so hard for the both of them? I know they both care for each other."

"What do you mean?" Debbie asking Jeremy not knowing the history between Jarod and Miss Parker. She didn't even know who Jeremy really was, or Jarod for that matter. She didn't know what her father did, or what Miss Parker did.

"You didn't know that they knew each other as children?"

"No."

"Jarod was in the Centre while her family ran the place. She would visit him sometimes and would sometimes go on adventures there."

"I didn't know that. I've only been inside the Centre once when my father took me there and then had to leave and Miss Parker took me home."

"Miss Parker is a good woman, but she hides behind her pain. She doesn't want to lose anyone else."

"I know. She was really nice to me when I spent the night at her house."

"I wish that my family would get to know her and Sydney, but there's too much. They don't realize that Miss Parker was just a child too. They don't want to see that Sydney was a victim of the Centre too. They are finally getting to see that your father was a victim too. I know that it's tearing Jarod apart that they don't like Miss Parker and Sydney. They just see that Miss Parker was chasing their son and Sydney kept Jarod away from them."

"What do you mean?"

"The history between Sydney, Jarod and Miss Parker."

"I don't understand."

"Your dad didn't tell you what he did inside the Centre, or anything about Miss Parker, Jarod, me and Sydney?"

"No, no he didn't."

"I'm sorry. I shouldn't have been telling you all of this."

"It's okay." Debbie said as she stood up from the bench that they were sitting on. "I have to go."

"I understand." He nodded as he watched as she walked towards her and her father's house. He then turned back to Jarod and Miss Parker. They were now sitting down in the chairs on the porch talking.

He too got up and made his way to his father and mothers house.


	3. Debbie gets answers

Disclaimer: "The Pretender" and its characters don't belong to me they belong to TNT and NBC and are being used without permission. Please don't sue because I have no money.

Gated

Part 3

Debbie walked into the house turning to the computer room where she knew where her father would be working at. She wondered what he was doing now that they were here. The room had bookcases around the area; a couple of chairs and by the window was a desk with a computer on it.

"Dad, can I talk to you?"

"Sure, honey." He said as he looked up from the computer.

"I want to ask you something and can you please be honest with me?"

"Sure what is it?"

"Who are Jarod and Jeremy? What is the history of Sydney, Jarod and Miss Parker? What did you do while inside the Centre? Why are we here? And what is the Centre?"

"What do you mean?"

"I was talking to Jeremy and we were watching Miss Parker and Jarod talking on Miss Parkers porch. He said stuff about Miss Parker and Jarod and their history and other stuff. He told me something about Miss Parker chasing Jarod and other stuff. I want the truth daddy."

"Sit down, honey."

Debbie sat down and watched as her father got up and sit in the chair beside her.

"It all started a very long time ago when Jarod was just four years old. In the middle of the night Jarod was stolen from his parents and brought to the Centre because he is classified as a pretender, a genius who can become anyone he wants to be. Sydney was his handler putting him though various simulations inside the Centre's lab. Miss Parkers father was in charge of the Centre and her mother worked there. When Jarod was a little older Mrs. Parker would take Miss Parker to visit Jarod, but then she supposedly died and Mr. Parker didn't like his daughter visiting Jarod, so he sent her to boarding school. Jarod still did various simulations inside the Centre and never allowed outside. When he got older he found out that the simulations that he did inside the Centre hurt and killed people and he ran away. Miss Parker was working at the Centre, but was pulled back into hunting for Jarod by her father to bring him back. They put Sydney into the hunt for him too because he was the one who raised and molded Jarod into a pretender. Miss Parker and Sydney were the only two who knew Jarod the most. I was working there in the tech center and was pulled from my current job to help in the hunt for Jarod. I would make programs to locate him and tell Miss Parker if there were any results in the hunt and we would go to the place that I found him, but he was never there. While inside the Centre Jarod did a cloning simulation never knowing that it would be used on him. It would be a few years that he'd been out that he would find his father and they in turn would find Jarod's clone whom by then was named Gemini. Jeremy is Gemini, Jarod's clone. When the Centre fell Jarod found his family and invited us to stay here with them, so we would all be safe."

"So Jeremy was inside the Centre too?"

"He was in a place called Donoterase and brought to the Centre, but he never got the chance to grow up there like Jarod did."

"Jarod saved him?"

"Yes, he was the one who grabbed him before he could be taken to Africa. During that time Major Charles was taken and brought to the Centre. Jarod in turn took Mr. Parker and traded Mr. Parker for his father. He almost got away, but Miss Parker was shot. Jarod had to let Jeremy and his father goes, so that they could get away and he stayed behind to help Miss Parker. He was then taken to the Centre and was going to go to Africa like Jeremy was going to go, but Jarod escaped."

"I've noticed that when sometimes Jarod comes back from the grocery story and when I'm there with Jeremy they have lots of junk food. They have stuff like ice cream, chips, pez and pez dispensers. And other junk food."

"Because Jarod wasn't allowed all that stuff inside the Centre. He only had a nutritional supplement while inside the Centre."

"Who are the people who are helping us?"

"Those are some people that he's helped with his pretends. You see since he's escaped he's tried to atone for the way his Sims killed and hurt people. He helped many people during the five years he'd been out in the world. He's even helped me get custody of you. He also helped me one other times too."

"But it wasn't his fault, daddy. Doesn't he know that?"

"I know it and you know it, but he doesn't feel that way. I think that he feels that he should have known that his Sims could have been used for bad instead of the way they were supposed to be used."

"I hope that he can find peace and know that it wasn't his fault."

"I hope so too baby."


	4. Jarod and Debbie talk

Disclaimer: "The Pretender" and its characters don't belong to me they belong to TNT and NBC and are being used without permission. Please don't sue because I have no money.

Gated

Part 4

Jarod woke up early before the sun got up, finishing his coffee he went outside and sat on the park bench. He wanted to see the sun come up. This was one of the first things that he did when he escaped the Centre and he hoped he never got tired of watching the dawn of a new day. He took out his sunglasses out of his leather coat jacket pocket and put them on. Even after all this time outside sometimes the bright sunlight hurt his eyes.

Debbie woke up early for some reason. She got out of bed and looked out the window scanning the street to see what had woken her up. She looked towards the park and saw a figure there, seeing that it was Jarod she got dressed and walked towards the lone pretender. She was saddened by what Jarod had been through inside the Centre. She was glad that he helped her father get custody of her. She didn't even want to think of what would have happened to her if she were living with her mother.

Jarod glanced towards Debbie when he felt her presence. He wondered why she was up so early and why she was here.

"You're up early young Miss Broots."

"I just woke up and saw you out here. You're up early too."

"I couldn't sleep, so I decided to watch the sunrise."

"You have nightmares."

"Yes."

"I'm sorry."

"It's not your fault."

"It's not your fault either."

"What do you mean?"

"What happened to you and what your Sims were used for."

"How did you know?"

"My dad explained it to me It's not your fault, Jarod. You didn't know, but when you found out you escaped and helped people. You helped people that would have never gotten help from anywhere else. You even helped my father get custody of me even if he helped try to find you to bring you back."

"I am a genius. I should have figured out that my work could have been used for the opposite of what it was intended to be used for. I should have seen it."

"Are you psychic?"

"No."

"Then how could of known? You were just a little boy who was taken from the only family you've ever known. I'm sorry for what you and your family have been through."

"It's not your fault."

"No, it's not and it's not yours either."

Jarod sighs and looks at Debbie.

"You're a smart girl, Debbie."

"Thank you."

"Go back home before your father gets up and finds you gone. He'll be worried if he doesn't find you."

"Just like your family was when they found you gone." She said before she left to go back home.

She really couldn't complain about how her life went when here Jarod's life and his family's life was torn apart when he was taken from them.


	5. Father and son argument

Disclaimer: "The Pretender" and its characters don't belong to me they belong to TNT and NBC and are being used without permission. Please don't sue because I have no money.

Gated

Part 5

Jarod went back inside after watching the sunrise and went inside to turn on the T.V. He watched a little bit of the news and then turned to another channel and watched some cartoons for a bit and then turned it off. He made himself some breakfast and then turned to the sink and washed his dishes. He then headed into the computer room and turned his laptop on. He waited for it to load and looked around. On the desk was a photo that was framed. It was of him, Jeremy, his father, mother and Emily in front of his parent's house and they were all smiling. He had put the camera on the tripod and set the timer. That was before Sydney, Miss Parker and the rest moved in with them. He turned back to the computer when it was ready and checked his mail and then to see what was happening to the rest of the world and other things that he was keeping an eye on.

He turned off the computer and then walked to the living room and then walked to the door. He was going to go to Sydney's house. Walking up the driveway he heard some laughter and talk in the backyard. Sydney and Nicolas were sitting in lawn chairs talking to each other and once in a while they would laugh. He stopped in his tracks not wanting to intrude in what he saw as a happy moment. He turned to leave and then turned back.

"Jarod, come sit down."

"No, that's okay. I don't want to intrude.

Michelle was looking out the window and saw Jarod's face when he saw Sydney and their son talking and laughing. She knew that Sydney cared for Jarod like his own son, but she knew that Sydney never told him. She often told him that he should tell him, but he never did. She hoped that it wasn't too late.

"Are you okay, Jarod?"

"I'm fine Sydney."

Just then his father came up to the house.

"Jarod."

"What is it dad?"

"I want you to come over to the house."

"In a minute."

"Now, Jarod."

"Dad, why do you keep on doing this? I keep on telling you that Sydney is a good person, but you refuse to listen to me."

"He was the person who took you away from us."

"No, he wasn't."

"He was the one that kept you away from us."

"He took care of me and tried his best to keep me from harm. It's not his fault that I was there. Don't blame him. If you want someone to blame, blame Mr. Parker and Mr. Raines, but don't blame Sydney and Miss Parker. They were the one's that took me away from you. Miss Parker was just a child like I was she didn't know what was happening."

"But she did when she was older. She didn't have to hunt you down like an animal."

"It's not her fault. It was her father's fault. You don't understand what it's like to do anything that you can to gain the love of a father, or even what you think of as a father. You would do anything to gain the love and attention of that."

"I am your father, Jarod and I love you."

"I know that, dad. But for years I thought of Sydney as my father. He was the one that raised me since I was four years old, he was the one who molded me into a pretender, and he was the one that made sure that I was okay. I didn't remember you, or Mom. Then I was told that you had died. I grieved for you, for the family that I never got to see again."

"But we're here now."

"But you weren't then. You knew where I was. Why didn't you come and get me? You were inside the Centre and still you never got me. There were times that I would lie in bed and cry because I thought that I did something wrong, that I was taken because you didn't love me anymore. Why did they take me? What did I do so wrong for someone to take me away from you?"

"I'm so sorry, Jarod. You never deserved the life that you were taken away from."

"No, I didn't, but that's what I was given." He said as he walked away with tears in his eyes.

"Where are you going?"

"I'm going out."

"You shouldn't leave."

"I can't talk right now. I need some air."

He walked home and got into his car and took off.

He was walking around the town square when he felt someone watching him. He turned around and scanned the crowd and then he saw someone. He started to smile and walk towards the lone figure.

"It's good to see you, little brother. You gave me a scare for a little bit. I thought someone found us."

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to. Mom told me that you would be here."

"You still hear your Mother's voice."

"Yes."

"How are you getting along with it?"

"Actually, since you helped me it's gotten better."

"Let's go then. Dad and Miss Parker will be surprised to see you. That is if Miss Parker doesn't already know with her inner sense. It's good to see you Ethan. I'm glad that you made it here."

"I am too, Jarod."


	6. Ethan arrives

Disclaimer: "The Pretender" and its characters don't belong to me they belong to TNT and NBC and are being used without permission. Please don't sue because I have no money.

Gated

Part 6

Jarod pulled onto the road that would take them home and turned to his brother.

"I have a house ready for you. If you want to stay with Mom and Dad, Miss Parker, or me that's okay."

"Thank you, Jarod."

Inside the air conditioned entry way to the gated community was a manned station.

"Hi, Manny. This is my brother Ethan, he's going to be staying here."

"Okay, Jarod." Manny said as he looked at Ethan.

He made his way to his own house and got out and Ethan got out too picking up his duffel bag and looked around.

"If you need anything else we can go into town and get it. Maybe we should have done that earlier."

"That's okay."

Miss Parker stepped out of her house as she heard Jarod pull up and so did Major Charles and Sydney.

"Ethan, you're here." Miss Parker walked towards her baby brother and hugged him. A few months ago she would have never done this, but being around here she started to soften up little, by little.

"Mom told me where you were."

"I'm glad that she told you that. It's good to see you again."

"It's good to be here."

"Hello, Ethan." Said Sydney coming up to greet him.

"Hello, Sydney. It's good to see you too." He said as he shook hands.

Margaret, Jeremy, Emily, Nicolas, Broots and Debbie stepped outside wondering what was happening.

"Who is that, daddy?" Asked Debbie

"That is Ethan. He's Miss Parker and Jarod's brother."

"Oh."


	7. Four years

Disclaimer: "The Pretender" and its characters don't belong to me they belong to TNT and NBC and are being used without permission. Please don't sue because I have no money.

Gated

Four years later

It had been two years since Ethan had appeared in their quiet little community of Centre refugees. Jarod's family finally got used to Miss Parker and Sydney in their son's lives. They also realized that it wasn't Miss Parker, or Sydney's fault that their little boy's were taken from them.

It had been a year since Miss Parker had said yes to Jarod's proposal of marriage. They had moved out of both of their houses moving into their own house. A year later Jason and his twin sister Jasmine had entered the world. They were going to be spoiled since the whole community was happy about their arrival. A year later Jeremy had asked for Debbie's hand in marriage and she had said yes. A year later they too were proud parents of a baby boy who's name was Adam.

With the help of Ethan they had found young Master Parker and had brought him into the community. They had changed his name to Robert and he was a happy and healthy boy who was happy that he was going to be a big brother. Jarod and Melanie had adopted him.

Major Charles and Margaret were happy with their grandchildren. They were almost always over Melanie and Jarod's house holding the children.

Emily had found a husband and brought him into the fold. Of course Jarod and Broots had made sure that he was okay to let into the community. After a through background check they had allowed Emily to date him. They had just gotten married a couple of weeks ago.

Ethan had found someone to love too. Someone who didn't think that he was strange, or different. Jarod and Broots had done a background check on her too and she was given the green light too. They had gotten married a week after Emily and Brian did.

Jarod had been scanning the news about the people that had once owned the Centre. Mr. Lyle was in prison without parole. He was never going to see the light of day again he was caught red handed with the murder of a young woman. This wasn't the first time that that happened. Mr. Raines's oxygen tank had blown up while he lit up a match to smoke his cigarette.

Sydney and Jarod finally patched things up. Sydney told him that he had kept the father's day card and told him that he loved him like a son. They were rebuilding that relationship and Jarod was glad at that.

The End


End file.
